This invention relates to animal feeding systems, and more particularly concerns feeder pan assembly apparatus for poultry and the like.
Feeder pan assemblies are among the most important parts of modern automated feeding systems which allow poultry and the like to be raised from inception to harvest with a minimum amount of time and effort. Utilization of such efficient low-cost feeding systems is today a prerequisite to economic survival in the animal husbandry business.
Operation of this type of feeding system usually commences with a supply of feed being conveyed from a storage hopper, through a series of transport conduits and ultimately into individual feeder pan assemblies which are readily accessible to the feeding poultry crop. At present, feeder assemblies of the type and kind referred to here generally comprise a dome portion, including a feeder tube for receiving the feed from the transport conveyors, and pan means into which the feed is directed after leaving the feeder tube and which provides the poultry with access to the feed. Additionally, some type of device for interconnecting the pan with the dome and feeder tube combination is also required. That is, some kind of clip or wire form is needed to hold the assembly together. Therefore, today's feeders comprise at least three separate assembly pieces.
Three-piece feeder assemblies have proved highly successful and have been widely accepted and used throughout the industry. Examples of these devices are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,911,868 and 4,070,990.